Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-04-30
GRIDLEY.
Brief Sketch Of this En-
terprising Place.
A MINIATURE CITY.
Some Of Its Leading Indus
tries and Enterprises.
IT'S CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, ETC.
Unprecedented Fertility and Productive
ness Of the Soil.
VARIED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
The Wonderful Variety and Excellent
Quality of Fruits Grown and
Their Markets.
VARIED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
The Wonderful Variety and Excellent
Quality of Fruits Grown and
Their Markets.
BUTTE COUNTY-ITS INDUSTRIES.
General BidweIl's Celebrated Ranch
Chico-Description Of the Chero-
kee Hydraulic Mining Prop
erty-Lumber Supply, Etc.

and Oregon Railroad, in Butte county,
about 20 miles from Sacramento, and
nesting pleasantly among groves of
the largest live oaks in California, lies the
town of Gridley, with population of
about 1900, composed of perhaps the
most energetic and enterprising citizens of
any town of its population on the Pacific
coast. Its primitive condition of beauty
has not been destroyed or marred by re-
ducing it to cultivation and improvement,
as has too often been done by pioneers in
their haste to utilize the land. The i'm
mense live oaks of the primeval forest,
with their huge boles and large spreading
branches clothed with bright ever.
green foliage, have been allowed to remain,
both in town and country, giving grateful
shadeand relieving the glittering whiteness
of the houses of the town and dotting the
fields like the parks of Europe, as often
represented in paintings, both ideal and
real. And not for beauty alone have they
been left. The dense shade they throw
affords much grateful protection to stock
when turned into the stubble fields in the
fall after the grain has been harvested,
when the sun shines with burning fierce
ness in the midday of the late summer.
Then, too, they look to the future when
this section shall have become thickly set
tied. and all the lands cleared; firewood,
now so abundant, shall have become
scarce, then, by removing tree occasion
ally, they can keep
THEMSELVES PLENTIFULLY SUPPLIED,
And save both the cost and time of haul
ing it from the Feather river, from which
their future supply will be drawn, when
they have exhausted the supply in their
neighborhood. But this eventuality need
not be taken into account by this genera
ton, nor even by the next, so abundant are
the trees remaining standing and SO large
their size. Not resident lot in the city
but has several in their yards, and even in
the streets, where they are close to the
sidewalks and do not impede travel, they
are trimmed and allowed to remain.
But while it gives such quiet and
sylvan beauty to the town, it leads the
casual visitor TO believe the place much
smaller than it is, as only by threading its
many streets can one determine how great
a population it contains. On close ex-
animation, Gridley presents many metro
politan characteristics seldom observed in
rural towns. Its business houses are con-
centrated on one or two streets, and con-
nected together and built in blocks mostly
of brick, and evidently constructed for the
business for which they are used. Its
streets are neat and clean, free from rub
Dish, cans, old boots, etc, so noticeable in
many mining towns. Its sidewalks are
plank, of an average breadth of twelve
feet, and all built on single grade. Trees
of different varieties-locust, California
walnut, maple, elm, etc, are planted along
the outer edge of the sidewalks. In fact,
it is
A MINIATURE CITY.
Another noticeable feature is the entire
absence of unemployed persons in the
town. Everyone is employed at their
trades or in business. Tie musical clang
of the blacksmith's hammer. or the rip
ping of the carpenters saw is constantly
heard, and the buzzing noise of the whiri-
ing machinery OF the -four mill dispels all
the quiet of the typical country village,
and forces one almost to imagine that he
Is IN manufacturing town. The whist
lfnor Of tho M n Y
the relays of its employees deepens the
impression. And this time of year, too
we are told IS the most quiet, for all the
farmers with their men and teams are
buslly engaged in summer-fallowing. In
harvest time 1t indeed must be a lively
and bustllng' town when the crews of the
harvesting machines are in this vicinity
and have their days off.
The styles Of architecture of its business
houses, residences and churches are neat.
tasteful and appropriate. The old Califor-
mia pioneer style, modelled, we think. from
dry goods box, with boards set on end
and battens nailed on the cracks, is nowhere
seen. On the contrary, many of the build
ings would be considered ornate even in a
city, and all of them have pleasing ap-
pearance, indicative of the prosperity and
taste of the owners Nor are the surround.
ings neglected, nearly all of them being
Enclosed with white painted pickets,
while some have the more costly scroll.
work fence. The yards, too, bear every
trace of care and attention. In them can
be found
FRUIT TREES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION
From every cline; the orange, lemon.
japanese persimmon, sandwiched in be-
tween the peach, apricot, almond, pear,
apple, etc, all neatly trimmed and with
vigorous healthy growth, proving practi-
caiiy the peTfec; adoption of both soil and
climate Tor their production. Vegetables
OF every description are cultivated for
domestic use, and their advanced growth
al this season of the year was a marvel to
one from the lower Sacramento basin.
Beans tomatoes, corn and other vegetables
which are liable to injury from heavy
frosts are seldom planted in the open air
before April 10Th in this locality. Grid
ley, however, has no such fears Beans in